Heat recuperators (also referred to sometimes as “lamellar” or “stacked” heat recuperators) may be constructed from one or more assemblies of plates or sheets, usually composed of metal or some other thermally conductive material, which are arranged in a stacked formation. Fluids of generally different temperatures may be conducted through passageways that lead in an interleaving fashion between the stacked plates, so that the plates act as barriers to keep separate the respective fluid flows. In the process, heat may be exchanged between the fluid flows across the surfaces of the plates. Optionally, gasket members made from elastic material may be utilized to space adjacent plates in the stack and maintain open passageways for fluid to flow.
Plate heat recuperators will often yield higher thermal efficiencies as compared to other types and configurations of heat recuperators because the fluids in the plate heat recuperators are exposed to a larger surface area as they spread out over the plates. The larger surface area generally facilitates heat transfer and, in at least some cases, will tend to speed up temperature change. Due to their simple construction, plate heat recuperators also tend to be relatively inexpensive to build and maintain in an operable condition through easy assembly and disassembly, such as for cleaning, part replacement, and other minor repair. With their relatively simple construction and high thermal efficiencies, plate heat recuperators may be effectively utilized in a wide array of applications that require high-performance, lightweight heat recuperators such as, for example, in the automotive, aerospace and aeronautical fields, as well as others.
Plate heat recuperators may exhibit limitations. For example, pressure differentials between fluids conducted through heat exchange passageways can exert sometimes considerable stresses on different components of the heat recuperator, such as the gasket members or even the plates themselves. Large enough pressure differentials may even cause these components to fail (the gasket members, if included, usually before the plates), which can thereby constrain use and operation of the plate heat recuperator to specified safe pressure ranges.